HTTYD: A Different Verse
by Saberpoint
Summary: Boarding upon the unknown vastness of the Frozen Void the Galaxy of Misery holds solar system that is home of the Hairy Hooligan Tribe. The future chief being a boy called Hiccup. Hiccup was a very un-ordinary boy with a very un-ordinary friend for a Viking.
1. A Different Verse

**A/N: Well this is my first fiction people. I've read quite a few, written some stories just for my enjoyment, but now wanted to post one.**

**So this one weekend I watched several episodes of Firefly and the movie Serenity, played some StarCraft II, watched HTTYD by Dreamworks then decided to read the first book by Cressida Cowell. I've read the first two book back when I was about to go into high school and I really enjoyed them. Even now being in my mid-20s I enjoy them. Looking forward to the last couple of books to finish up the series. Afterward, as everything settled into my gray matter I got this crazy idea to write a Science Fiction version of HTTYD.**

**I've learned when in comes to writing stories I'm very non-linear. I've got about 15 or so chapters written. They are all near the middle or end of the plot, also un-edited so not ready to be published. And the way I edit stories is also kind of a pain to readers who like regular and short update times. I like to write a chapter, forget about it, come back and read it, edit it, forget about it, come back read it, edit... continuing this cycle until I'm confident in the final draft. So sorry to those who want updates now, Now, NOW. You aren't going to get them until I'm ready.**

**Disclaimer: The following is a not for profit fan based fiction. How to Train Your Dragon story and characters are the property of Cressida Cowell and Dreamwork Animation. Please support the official literature and animated features. This literary work is written by the author for enjoyment and relaxation, and wishes to share their enjoyment of the HTTYD fandom with others.**

**Without any further to do, enjoy.**

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Chapter 1: A Different Verse

Far from the Virgo Superscluster, the birth place of humanity. Sitting beyond the edge of known universe is a galaxy know by frontiersmen as Misery. Ninety-nine percent of the planets are uninhabitable, the remaining one percent life can only be described as tolerable and the space in between beyond hazardous. Names of these places bare titles of wretched existence, such as the Hopeless' Moon, Everything Burns, Nebula of the Lost, Tomorrow is Never Better, Asteroid Belt of Close Calls and Frozen upon Landing.

The colony ship that brought humans to this corner of the universe was called the Viking. Named after the fearless warriors and explorers of ancient Earth's frozen north. Considering that most of the settlers had Scandinavian ancestry, they began calling themselves Vikings. In fact many of the forefathers of the settlers embraced old ways. Establishing laws, customs and beliefs based on the ancient culture. Despite humanity's biological, societal and technological evolution the Viking-like way of life seemed to work. Invoking the names of Thor and Odin in thanks, cursing Loki for misfortune and praising Noird for a summer day in their conversations.

Galaxy of Misery was not a forgiving home. It was treacherous to traverse, so as its inhabitants became expert navigators and pilots. Trade networks began sprouting up as raw materials were exchanged for manufactured goods from neighboring galaxies with industrial capability. Viking tempers had a short fuses leading to blood feuds and rivalries between tribes, escalating sometimes into armed conflict and small wars. Tribes valued strong leadership and fighting prowess in a place where conflict, piracy and slavery were a fact of life.

Boarding upon the unknown vastness called the Frozen Void the Galaxy of Misery held a solar system containing a yellow star similar to Earth's with a habitable planet. A very wet, stormy and cold planet, but some said that the residents were far better off than most in the galaxy. The rotation and tilt of this planet let it have ten earth months of winter, six of slush and four of rain in one solar rotation. Of course, the earth season of summer was practically nonexistent say for a few weeks with only a few sunny days sparsely scattered through the rest of the very long year. Its vast oceans provided an ideal habitat for earth fish and marine life to thrive. The rough landscape was molded by the spark of human ingenuity and hard headed stubbornness giving a home for both humans and wild earth animals to flourish.

This is Berk. Home of the Hairy Hooligan Tribe for over seven generations. Led by their chief, Stoic the Vast, all who hear is name and tremble, Uhg, Uhg. A giant of a man, fearless warrior and leader, elevating his tribe to stand above all others. The Hairy Hooligans had the fastest ships, most powerful weapons, the best food and the largest stockpile of resources. Their warriors commanded the most fear and respect on the battlefield. Except when it came to the Berserker Tribe, because those guys are insanely crazy bad-asses.

The Hooligans prided themselves at been at the top of the ladder. Shouting their trade mark motto "To death or glory!" before battle. Living by the slogan of "Only the strong belong". However, like everyone else they had their black sheep. Unfortunately one of those black sheep was the chief's son, Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Third, heir to the chiefdom of Berk; better know as Hiccup the Useless by his peers and tribesmen.

Hiccup was a very un-ordinary boy in a place where ordinary was tall, loud, strong, fearless and hairy all over. He was on the small side, with no distinguishing features and had a face that blended into a crowd. The two traits that did stand out the most was wild red hair that could not be tamed with a comb, water or hygiene product, and his vibrant green eyes. While kids his age were excited about flying ships, getting their hands on a new weapon or proving themselves on the battlefield. The fifteen year old Hiccup found himself drawn to more creative and intellectual pursuits. To those who knew him best, he was a genius and master tinkerer.

The Vikings of Berk were not well know for their intelligence. So a boy with an IQ over 200 was could be considered a freak. While all Vikings were smart enough to navigate and pilot a ship, Hiccup was beyond that. He was considered a walking nav-computer. Languages, mathematics, science, engineering all came naturally to him. His hobby of inventing gadgets and what-a-ma-who-its displayed his creative spark demonstrating his competency with advanced science and engineering. Hiccup's inventions usually ended in disaster with an added bonus of public humiliation. This however it did not discourage him from trying again. As stubborn as his forefathers he analyzing what went wrong, fixed it and would try again.

While Stoic would have hoped that his son would take more interest in his future responsibility of leading the tribe, Hiccup found himself drawn to Berk's engineering forge. Repairing the many machines, weapons and things the tribe used. This also gave him a playground to create his inventions. Most considered working in the forge as 'slave work', or not 'Viking-like'. Hiccup had found his niche in the village, despite the extra harassment it earned him.

"NO HICCUP YA DOING IT ALL WRONG!" Hiccup was normally harassed because he wasn't Viking enough. "Now, when you have the ball ya don't run away, no ya CHARGE RIGHT AT THEM!" Of course, some of the things that people considered Viking material was just plain stupid. "The object in Bashyball is to make as much contact with your opponents as possible and still get to the goal line. By trampling over 'em, it demoralizes yer opposition, demonstrating that nothing stands in yer way and that you are superior." The irony was lost on the giant of a man yelling at Hiccup two inches in front of his face. Hiccup didn't have the physical capacity to trample over anyone, he was the smallest player on the field. Even the girls were bigger than him. "Alright then," the giant said blowing a whistle. "Everyone back to their starting positions."

"Uh, Gobber Sir," Hiccup said hesitantly. "Maybe I could sit this one out. Maybe get a better understanding by watching." Gobber turned back to the short boy glaring down at him.

"The best way for YOU to learn is to WITNESS it first hand." Gobber placed his giant hand on his back guiding Hiccup to his spot while giving him advice if were a hundred pounds heavier. Gobber left while Hiccup looked at his opponent across the line. Hiccup tried to hide his grimace as he looked at his cousin, Snotlout.

Snotlout was everything a Viking should be; beefy, commanding and a born leader. He was a little younger than Hiccup but had about two times the body mass. Already the beginnings of a mustache were showing on his upper lip. He had an impressive skull tattoo on his arm that he got when he turned ten. Everyone sang praise to Snotlout because he was best at everything. Of course, that inflated Snotlout's already enlarged ego to new sizes.

"Ready Useless," Snotlout grinned sadistically. Hiccup could never forget how much Snotlout hated him for just one thing, and one thing only. Hiccup was the future chief of Berk. Any pain Snotlout could inflict on his cousin, he would. Trying as hard as he could to make Hiccup abandon the chiefdom. Hiccup sighed preparing himself for the series of bruises he was about to receive. Hiccup quickly glanced down the line at the two teams, locked in their starting positions glaring at each other. On Snotlout's side Dogsbreath, Ruffnut and Clueless, squaring them off respectfully were Wartihog, Tuffnutt and Astrid.

Hiccup quickly ran through his mind what the most likely outcome of this confrontation. Wartihog was best friends with Snotlout and would betray Hiccup's team. Wartihog and Dogsbreath would dog pile on Hiccup with Snotlout making for the ball. Ruffnut and Tuffnut would engage into one of their sibling rivalry punching matches. While Clueless, as his name suggest, would stand still a whole ten second before he realizing they had started. Astrid would try and push her way through the sibling fight to get the ball before Snotlout. Even though Astrid and Snotlout were 'dating', her competitive nature threw loyalties and relationships out the window. Hiccup turned back to Snotlout now with a plan.

"Ready," Gobber called out from the sidelines. Then inhaling a deep breath that made him look like a big mouth bass, he bit down on the whistle and blew. ***TWEEEEEEEET!* **Hiccup charged forward as much as he could towards the ball, but as he predicted he was blocked by Wartihog and Dogsbreath. In a desperate attempt, Hiccup kicked out his feet before the two gorillas tackled him to the ground. Hiccup was sure he heard something snap, probably a rib or finger, he thought. The force of the land and the combined weight of the bodies on top of him made it hard to breath. Soon Hiccup was seeing dark spots, then everything went black.

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"Hiccup, Hiccup are you alright?" The light slowly began to return as colors and shapes began to come into focus. Standing above him was his best human friend Fishlegs. Fishlegs was much like himself if only a few inches taller. Skinny as a bean pole Fishlegs had asthma, a terrible squint, thick bottle top glasses and a list of allergies as long as his arm. Both of them being black sheep they had become friend very early on in their lives. While Hiccup had a passion for science and engineering, Fishlegs enjoyed literature and mathematics. No one on Berk could write a poem or sonnet quite like Fishlegs, nor could anyone keep up with Hiccup's mathematical ramblings.

"Thank goodness, I thought you were dead!" Fishlegs said with sigh of relief. Fishlegs' right arm was in a sling after having his shoulder dislocated then popped back into its socket. In the previous game Fishlegs had a similar encounter with Wartihog and Dogsbreath that Hiccup was just recovering from.

"It would've been better if he were," Snotlout sneered beyond Hiccup's vision.

"I'm sorry Snotlout, we tried the best we could," Wartihog whimpered.

"It's aright, its hard to kill a cockroach. Just remember next time to stomp a little harder." Hiccup could see Snotlout's signature sneer in his mind and feel the hateful gaze upon him. Hiccup slowly sat up, groaning as body let him know where he had new bruises. Looking around he noticed most everyone had already left. Snotlout and his gang probably stayed behind just long enough to add the last insult.

"HICCUP," Gobber shouted, coming over to look disapprovingly at the boy. "I'm going to have to give ya a failing grade on your sports education this time 'round. Yer effort was greatly lacking." Hiccup paused a moment to think.

"Gobber did my team win?" Hiccup asked.

"Yea, Astrid scored that last goal," Gobber answered, still not looking pleased.

"How did she get the ball first? Snotlout would have been an better positions to grab it," Hiccup pointed out.

"That little scuffle between Dogsbreath an' Wartihog knocked the ball right at 'er. She picked it up and had a clean run for the goal."

"No they didn't," Fishlegs said standing as tall as he could in front of Gobber. "Hiccup kicked it just a little towards Astrid before he was tackled. I saw it, Hiccup made an effort to get it to her and succeeded. Dogsbreath and Wartihog didn't knock it by accident it as all Hiccup."

"Really," Gobber said sarcastically, not believing Fishlegs for a second.

"Yes, I did," Hiccup said building off of Fishlegs observation. "I knew what Wartihog and Dogsbreath were going to do because Fishlegs was in the same position a few rounds earlier. That was how he dislocated his shoulder. So I thought, if they were going to 'scuffle' and the twins were just going to fight. Then the ones making a play for the ball would be Snotlout and Astrid. So before I was included in the 'scuffle' I kicked the ball towards Astrid hoping that she would score. And she did."

"So you were wrong to say Hiccup didn't make an effort," Fishlegs continued. "He just didn't make the effort you wanted him to. Getting the ball himself and scoring. Hiccup is a team player, if the team wins who cares who gets the glory."

"Hm...," Gobber said scratching his beard. Here was a long moment while he studied the two boys in front of him while thinking about what he had seen and what they had said. "Alright, I'll give you a passing grade Hiccup, only barely though. Credit it to that big brain of yers helping comin' up with plan. Ya still need work at it." Gobber huffed turning around to go do something else.

"Yeah, like work on hitting puberty," Hiccup muttered.

"Come on Hiccup, you've never let this sort of thing get you down before," Fishlegs encouraged. "If you hadn't kicked the ball Snotlout's team would have won. You're the man behind the scenes that makes everything work. Even if nobody else sees or acknowledges it."

"Winning in Bashyball doesn't mean anything," Hiccup grunted as he stood up. He heard a few pops as he stood adding to his discomfort. Well, it did mean something. For him it was a trip the infirmary.

"Yeah, well for us it doesn't. How can an schooling system have thirty percent of the final grade based on 'physical education'. It isn't even educational at that," Fishlegs ranted. Hiccup tuned his best friend out after hearing the same lengthy commentary last week. Hiccup jumped to the summary in his mind before Fishlegs had began to argue his first point. 'Physical Education' should just be called 'Fitness Class', or as Hiccup liked to refer to it as 'humiliation of the physically changed' class. Hiccup and Fishlegs headed to the locker room to change into their normal cloths before leaving the gymnasium. Fishlegs continued his lecture until they were outside. A cold gust of Berk weather hit them derailing the discussion.

It was overcast and blowing at a good clip. Looking at the clouds they could tell it could start raining any second, or snow, maybe a little of both. Waving their farewells they both headed for home. Fishleg's house was near the waterfront while Hiccup's was at the top of the hill overlooking the entire village. Hiccup gripped his raincoat tightly as he tried to ward off the cold wind seeping in through the seams.

Hiccup glanced up to see his house in the distance. The massive A-frame building looked over everything in the village. While some of the merchants' homes were massive none compared to the monolith estate of the chiefdom of Berk. Built out of traditional materials of wood and stone the architecture was reminiscent of a Viking mead hall and a Swedish ski lodge. Standing over three stories tall it could fit a family spanning four generations with room to spare. Yet it was only inhabited by three people; Hiccup's father, Hiccup's grandfather and himself. Hiccup pushed his full body weight against the front door to open the solid plank of wood.

"_MASTER'S HOME! MASTER'S HOME!"_ well it was inhabited by three humans and several dragons. Hiccup wobbled back as he was hit by a blur of green and brown.

"_It's good to be home Toothless." _Toothless was a very common pet for Vikings to have. Some smaller than a cat, others about the size of a horse. Varying in colors and abilities with personalities much like a humans with a side of primal expression. Hiccup smiled as he caught his best friend as he flew around him rapidly chirping happily. Hiccup scratched the small creature behind the left horn on top of its head. The small animal let out a small purr as a pleasant smile spread across its mouth.

Toothless was a dragon, a commoner gardener dragon to be exact. While most Vikings picked the more dangerous types of dragons that could be domesticated, commoner gardeners where liked the name sounded; common. Almost unrecognizable as the same species sometimes if not for the ability to breath fire and fly. Toothless was somewhat of a laughing stock amongst other dragons because like his name suggests he was, in fact, without teeth. Like his master ,Toothless was not impressive to look at compared to other dragons and would commonly fade into the background if he wasn't the center of trouble. He did have a very nice hide of brown and green scales with very intelligent looking eyes. Toothless had a taste for mischief that always got him and Hiccup into some sort of trouble.

"_Toothless is h-hungry. Feed Toothless!"_ Hiccup smiled as he took off his rain gear and headed for the kitchen with Toothless in tow. Although Toothless was a rather unimpressive dragon, as Hiccup was an unimpressive Viking, he had traits that made him fair better than any other dragon in the village. Toothless was loyal, which was almost impossible for a dragon. Dragons were by definition selfish creatures. So if their master was in peril and it was in the best interest of the dragon to let him die, the dragon would turn on his master. Toothless was of course a dragon and was selfish by nature. Never though had that stopped Toothless from rescuing Hiccup from deadly misfortune. Hiccup owed Toothless for saving his life several times and Toothless was indebted to Hiccup for saving his as well. In the entire village of Berk, in fact in the entire galaxy of Misery, you couldn't find such a deep friendship between a boy and his dragon.

"_What would you like to eat Toothless?" _Hiccup asked as he rooted around the refrigerator.

"_Mackerel! Tasty mackerel,"_ Toothless chirped happily. Hiccup smiled as he dug out the small fish as he grabbed an apple for himself. Hiccup set down the plate of food before Toothless, jerking back his fingers before they were gummed by the dragon.

"_So how was your day?"_ Hiccup asked was Toothless threw back his head swallowing a mackerel whole. The small dragon rolled his neck forcing the fish down his throat before answering.

"_Nothing, boring, boring, boring day. I wished Master took Toothless with him today."_

"_Toothless you know why I left you home today. You stole everyone's lunch at the engineering forge yesterday," _Hiccup scolded. "_If you came with me they would have skinned you alive made into seat covers."_

"_Toothless is too small to be made into seat covers," _Toothless snorted.

"_The point is they would have hurt you badly if you came with me today," _Hiccup added with concern.

"What are you two talking about?" Hiccup and Toothless jumped, turning to the voice. Standing in the doorway was Hiccup's grandfather, Old Wrinkly. He was well into is eighties with a weathered and tired looking face. His eyes however sparked with the same intelligence Hiccup had and wit that few fully comprehended. A long white beard draped down his chin ending just below his belt line.

"Grandpa you know dragons can't talk," Hiccup responded with a shrug.

"Hiccup, I'm not blind and deaf enough to notice you can communicate with them." Wrinkly knew is his grandson very well, far better than Stoic. Wrinkly was never the fiercest nor the strongest warrior like Stoic, but was still an imposing figure in is youth. He was a cunning and insightful leader that could win a battle without firing a shot. While there was little glory to be had in his battle plans, the deception and strategy made up for the lack of action.

"Well," Hiccup hesitated trying to think of a way to lie.

"Hiccup," Wrinkly smiled knowingly, "I've played this game longer than you have so there is no need to hide it. I've know for a while." Being able to talk to dragons, or knowing Dragonese as it was referred to, was a great taboo amongst Vikings. Lowing ones self to communicate to animals was seen as dirty or demeaning. Hiccup had a fascination and knack for languages, which was also frowned upon. Anyone who didn't speak their native tongue was seen as inferior. Hiccup had tried to make sense of these taboos long ago and had yet to fully understand their reasoning. Many superstitions and prejudices played into their culture making decisions and behavior illogical. Old Wrinkly was one of the few that saw this and had an understanding for things that were different.

"Well, Toothless was just saying it was boring saying at home. He wanted to come to the engineering forge with me today, but I explained to him that everyone would have strangled him for stealing their lunches yesterday," Hiccup rambled nervously. Old Wrinkly smiled pleasantly, in that way old people do when they finally coaxed someone to be honest.

"So how many languages does that make?"

"Six, eleven if you count binary and a few computer programing languages." Hiccup smiled happily, Old Wrinkly smiled back.

"My, my if I had know that many languages when I was your age who knows how many people I would have pissed of from insulting them in their native tongue." Old Wrinkly chuckled at his own joke. Old Wrinkly was about to crack another one when the front door opened and a great roar filled the entire house.

"HICCUP!" the roar bellowed echoing off the high ceilings. The pans hanging from hooks beside the stove swayed and Hiccup could feel the counter top tremble. Loud steps could be heard as a giant of a man filled the doorway to the kitchen.

"Hey, dad," Hiccup said weakly. Stoic the Vast was a mammoth of a man in both size and the volume of hair. Standing over seven feet tall, built like a bulldozer, with a brilliant red beard that spread across his chest down to his navel. Two hunting/ guard dragons were on his heels. Both the size of a large dog with crimson red hides, scattered with flecks of yellow and black that when the they moved in bright lights appeared as if they they were burning. The two dragons followed their master's example and glared daggers at Hiccup. Their wolf-like snouts curling into a cruel smile as they enjoyed the yellings the human runt received from their master.

"Hiccup I got your report card from Gobber and I'm very disappointed in you grades," this wasn't new. Hiccup sighed knowing the lecture that was to follow. Stoic was the best at everything when he was Hiccup's age, much like how Snotlout was currently. Stoic made the comparison very often when he yelled at Hiccup. 'Why can't you be like Snotlout,' even now that statement echoed in Hiccup's mind.

"Dad I did the best I could," Hiccup pleaded.

"Your best isn't good enough, you need to focus more on things like Bashyball instead of the slave work you do at the engineering forge," Stoic scolded. In Stoic's mind Hiccup wasn't growing up to be the future chief that he wanted, neither physically or mentally. While he applauded his son smarts with computers and machines, Stoic thought Hiccup spent far too much time with them. A chief didn't need to know the inner workings of every machine, just how to use them, it was a slaves job to know how things worked. The only reason Berk took slaves was to have the technical support for the entire village. The Hairy Hooligans prided themselves on their physical abilities. So doing manual labor was a pleasurable exercise to them, than actual work. To an outsider things would seem backwards as citizens of Berk did all the heavy lifting while the slaves have the majority of the skilled and technical jobs.

"Stoic," Old Wrinkly interrupted, "Hiccup basically runs the engineering forge, despite Gobber's title of Chief Engineer. What Hiccup is doing there will translate over to leadership skills wonderful."

"But, that won't translate over to being respected by other tribes. Hiccup, you need to start showing how tough you are, how you're not someone to be messed with."

"Dad, do you really think showing... all this," Hiccup pushed away from the counter and motioned to his bean stock figure. "Will scare anyone. Dad, there are some things I can't control one of them is how and when my body grows."

"Excuses are for the weak, Hiccup," Stoic scowled.

"You summed my existence up right there dad. I'm weak," Hiccup said sarcastically, "and that isn't changing any time soon."

"And that defeatist attitude isn't help anything. You are my son, and I expect you to be more like Viking-like. If you don't start showing any progress I'll be forced to higher a tutor and forbid you from working in the engineering forge."

"Stoic," Wrinkly started, "I don't think forcing..."

"Wrinkly, Hiccup is going to be the chief one day and the way things are going Snotlout is going to usurp him. That boy has too little brains in my opinion to be chief, but he more than makes up for it with brawn."

"And yet Hiccup here is over qualified to be chief in the brains department," Wrinkly praised. Hiccup gave a quick smile to his grandfather's statement, but soon faded. Everything Stoic had said was old news. Without intervention by Odin, Thor or Loki things were going to remain the same until something drastic happened to elevate Hiccup.

"Dad, Granddad, it this issue hasn't changed for a long time," Hiccup pointed out. "And the situation isn't going to change anytime soon. Barring any disaster that results in you dieing or something," Hiccup motioned to his father. "I won't be able to assume the role of chief until I'm twenty, at the earliest."

"Its the initiation process to become chief though," Stoic explained. "You need to start building confidence and respect in our tribesmen. While commanding dominance over the other tribes. Hiccup," Stoic rubbed his brow, "you aren't going to get anywhere if you don't put some effort into wanting to become chief."

There was a pregnant pause as the statement hung in the air. Did Hiccup even really want to be chief of the Hairy Hooligan tribe? The questions flashed through the minds of both men and the boy standing in the kitchen as the silence continued. It wouldn't take much to for Hiccup to abandon the chiefdom. Snotlout would be certainly pleased if he did. Hiccup sighed, letting the issue fade like a heavy fog clouding his mind.

"I'm going to bed," Hiccup announced. "I've had a long day." Hiccup scooped up Toothless who had fallen into a food coma and headed for his room. Hiccup's room was the farthest from the front door, up on the top floor in the loft area.

Hiccup changed out of his clothes into some boxers and a t-shirt before crawling into bead. He brought the still sleeping Toothless up to lay the dragon on the foot of his bead. The little dragon unconsciously dug into the soft bedding curling up into a ball before lying still. Seeing his best friend was comfortable Hiccup lay on his back looking up at the ceiling.

Did he want to be chief? Snotlout would sacrifice his own mother in a heartbeat to be chief. He was so enamored by the perks and powers that came with being the chief. Hiccup only saw the responsibilities. Sure the chief got the best weapons, armor, fastest ship, do whatever he wants with little consequence and his pick of a wife, or wives. All those things still didn't make the position anymore enticing for Hiccup. Why not though?

Hiccup wasn't a natural at things like his father or Snotlout. Old Wrinkly called it, 'become a hero the hard way.' Hiccup understood the concept of the phrase and the philosophical argument as well. Were people with natural abilities better than those who had worked for them? Could Hiccup become better than Snotlout, or even his father? Hiccup let out another long sigh trying to rid his mind of the heavy thoughts. Slowly his breathing slowed and Hiccup fell asleep.

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**A/N: Well that's it for now. I'm really shaking up the story jar on this. Hope you enjoyed, leave comments and criticism. I'm sure some grammar and spelling tyrants probably have something to complain about. Until the next update, Peace.**


	2. Void Dragon War

**A/N: Well here is the next chapter ready to go. Thank you to those who read, are now following this story and commented. Thanks to those you read, but didn't comment; I hope you continue to read.**

**Poseidon321: There are a few other Sci-fi versions of HTTYD here, but last I checked they were still in-progress and haven't been updated in a while. Most have a strong cross-over base to them. The one I remember right now was done in the Mass Effect universe. As for mashing Sci-fi, the books and movies together... still don't really know where it will end up, but it will be a ride to be sure. Thank you for your offer of inspiration and/or ideas, I don't know if or when I'll take you up on that, but thanks for the support. Also thanks for the confidence boost on my writing abilities and I intend to continue.**

**Guest: I have to agree with you on the two-dimensional characters outside of Hiccup, Toothless and Fishlegs. Even in the later books Snotlout seems fairly flat as a major character. However, I think that its done to put more focus on other things happening in the story and not distract. They are after all meant to be kids books. Sorry the story concept and first chapter didn't attract in to read more, so thank you for being honest. I know I can't appeal to everyone so its up to the readers to know what they like and dis-like.**

**Guest: Run away?... Meh, stick around and see what happens.**

**Disclaimer: The following is a not for profit fan based fiction. How to Train Your Dragon story and characters are the property of Cressida Cowell and Dreamwork Animation. Please support the official literature and animated features. This literary work is written by the author for enjoyment and relaxation, and wishes to share their enjoyment of the HTTYD fandom with others.**

**Without anything else to address, enjoy.**

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Chapter 2: Void Dragon War

"It's still dark, why is it still dark? Why am I awake?" Hiccup thought as he looked around the room. Blinking several times he looked at the clock beside his bed. It was the middle of the night. So what had woken him up? To answer his question, there was a loud explosion outside that made the house tremble.

"Oh, that's why," Hiccup muttered just as the high pitched air raid alarm started to whine. Quickly he got up, pulling on his mechanic's jumpsuit and work boots. Scooping up the still sleeping Toothless, Hiccup stuffed him into a special pocket he had sewn into the inside of the left breast. Hiccup flew down the stairs, taking four steps at a time. He when landed at the ground floor he raced to the front door. Flinging it open he looked at the scene outside.

The night was lit up be small fires burning. Noises of a battle could be heard over the whine of the air raid siren. Men shouting in the distance, something large crashing into a building and the occasional burst of gunfire. Hiccup paused checking his surrounding before leaving the threshold. He was glad he did. Not few second before he declare it safe he heard someone, or something, inhale very loudly. Hiccup felt the hairs on the back of his neck rise and his eyes widened with fright.

Glancing up he saw the glint of crimson scales against the black sky. A span of red wings that blocked out the night sky. The long serpentine body hovered menacing with its jaws wide, yellow eyes lock on Hiccup. VOID DRAGON!

A jet of orange flame pour out of the darkness right at him, as quick as he could Hiccup slammed the door shut. He leaned up against it as he felt the the door strain against the flame. The heat from the other side was so intense Hiccup started to sweat. He was grateful that his jumpsuit was fire resistant and insulated or his shoulder pressed against the door would have already blistered. Then just as quickly as the attack happened it ended. The door started to cool and once again Hiccup peeked outside warily.

The front pouch was charred black. Several spots glowed with red embers sometimes sprouting a orange tongue of flame. Reaching beside the door Hiccup grabbed the industrial fire extinguisher. His body went through the motions as the muscle memory took over, waving the spout too and fro, coating everything in a white powder. Satisfied that his home wouldn't burn down Hiccup returned the extinguisher to its holder.

Glancing around one last time Hiccup made his move. Bolting away from the safety of his home down the street. As Hiccup ran he could see people stepping outside just like him. Some held an extinguisher, dressed in reflective fire resistant suits that made them looked like a walking aluminum foil manikin. While others stomped out wearing their armored encounter exo-suits, armed with every known weapon to mankind. Automatic rifles to six shot pistols, knives to battle-axes, bazookas to missile launchers; enough firepower to fight a war. In fact, Berk had been fighting this war for a very long time.

As Hiccup ran people called out to him telling him to, "Get inside" or "Go Home". Many people knew Hiccup was definitely on the smarter end of the spectrum. When they saw him running through the middle of a battle with out armor or weapons, they tended to question his intelligence. Despite this, Thor or something was looking out for Hiccup because he had never gotten a scratch. Sure, stories of Hiccup's epic failures trying to "help" would be told for generations. However, no matter how much collateral damage he unintentionally caused, Hiccup always came out unharmed.

"I see your luck hasn't run out yet," Gobber called out as Hiccup ran into the engineering forge. Gobber had a pair of welding goggles on as he worked on a thick plate of armor for a powered combat suit. The sparks and embers falling in a small fountain. "Hiccup come here, the servos on this arm aren't working see what you can do."

Hiccup grabbed his tool vest before heading over to work on the suit. It was a standard problem with the mechanical armored exoskeletons Berk warriors preferred to use. Although they could withstand the vacuum of space and were just as tough as the person who wore them. They tended to have problems in the joints from repeated actions and jarring vibrations. Hiccup quickly identified the problem soldering back in a new connection.

"Give it a try," Hiccup said backing away. The pilot of the suit moved the arm testing the joint before giving Hiccup a thumbs up. "Hold still let me get a quick armor patch over it." Picking up the metal plate Gobber had just cut out of the armor Hiccup applied a bonding agent to its edges before fitting it back into its niche. "Okay you're good, remember to bring it by so we can fix it properly."

Without so much of a thank you, the suit of armor stood up and exited to engineering forge. Work was nonstop as Hiccup fixed armor, calibrated gun sites, sharpened swords and made sure warriors returned to the battlefield as fast as possible. Gobber's constant yelling in the background as he ordered a small army of slaves working just as hard as Hiccup.

A loud explosion caught his attention as he glanced out the front loading bay. Standing there with a backdrop of a bellowing cloud of flame were Hiccup's peers. Standing in front was Snotlout as he lead the group of teens as chief junior firefighter. At his right hand was Astrid. Sure everyone else was there, but Hiccup hardly seemed to notice as he focused on Astrid. The gold locks of her hair radiated in the red light from the fires...

"FOCUS HICCUP!" Gobber yelled at the teen had stopped working. Hiccup could have sworn Gobber had developed a sixth sense, telling him that Hiccup wasn't working. No matter the reason for the pause in productivity, taskmaster Gobber would some how know and jolt Hiccup back to the duty at hand.

"We don't have a very charismatic job do we," a voice to Hiccup's left muttered. Looking over Hiccup met the small smile of Bjorn. Little Bjorn as most people called him was a slave in the engineering forge. Just a few year younger than Hiccup, he and his grandmother were bought by the Hooligan tribe little over eight earth months ago. Little Bjorn's grandmother as too old for most work, but had a very long career as a scientist and scholar before being taken into slavery. She had found her place with the village elder and healers, guiding the young and helping at the hospital.

Little Bjorn as the nick-name suggested was small and had yet to grow into is name. His small frame was ideal for rooting around in crawl spaces in the machines, vehicles and building around Berk. He and Hiccup had a rough started, but had become close friends when Bjorn realized Hiccup was almost a slave without the mark. The constant belittlement and servitude Hiccup went through as a tribesman, no as the son of the chief, amazed Bjorn. However, after witnessing his first 'Hiccup moment', he soon understood why the village treated him with such disdain.

"True," Hiccup answering Bjorn's statement. "However our job keeps the village running. No Hiccup or Bjorn, no working fire extinguishers, no working fire-hoses, no glamor in being hailed as the ones who saved the village from burning down." Bjorn chuckled at how big a part they played in the village, but how small everyone thought their role was.

"Heroes behind the scenes," Bjorn summarized. Holding up a engine part for Hiccup the look at. "5/8ths?"

"7/8ths, be sure to put some axle grease on the threads before you put it on. It'll be easier to take off when it breaks." Bjorn nodded before ducking back to his work station. Hiccup thought about what Bjorn had said, 'the unsung heroes'. Vikings generally thought who ever killed the most were the hero, or generally someone who had a dangerous job and preformed it with excellence.

"WE'VE DONE IT, WE'VE DRIVEN THEM BACK!" a shout went out. Cheers and whoops of victory sounded from outside as people in the engineering forge gave a smile that they had survived another night. However, the night was not over for most of the people in the forge. Soon the front was jammed pack with people dropping off equipment and weapons that had broken in the battle.

Hiccup really found this part annoying. He was always one with a plan, procedure; even when just 'winging it' he had some assembly of order. This though was chaos and a preventable headache. Gobber stood at the front taking all the equipment and then just started stacking it by the door. Gun, swords, shields, armor; in no particular order just piled high willy-nilly. The best part about all of this was Gobber didn't ask what was wrong with any of it. So when Gobber assigned someone to go though 'the pile', they had no clue with what was wrong.

"So how was it out there?" Gobber asked Stoic when he made it to the front. Stoic handed Gobber a giant sword to add to the stack.

"It wasn't bad," Stoic shrugged, moving to one side so he could talk to Gobber while he took other Viking's broken weapons. "They got into the cold storage and made off with about a half month's worth of food."

"How many did we knock out of the sky?"

"Hand full of Grotesque Grockles, half a dozen Deadly Nadders, four Hiddous Zipplebacks and two Monstrous Nightmares. Didn't see any Nightfurys tonight, which was a blessing and curse that we didn't get another shot a the beasts."

"Be careful Stoic, them void dragons don't mess 'round," Gobber waved a shield in his hand that had a giant bite taken out of it. Gobber flipped it over to show the fresh blood on the underside to make his point. It was a familiar sight around Berk, seeing the scars of the Void Dragon war on equipment, people and Berk. Everyone over the age of twenty had received their badge of courage and every family had lost of a member.

The war started soon after Berk had been settled. At first it was seen as wild animals looking for scraps, but now it was a fight for survival. No one knew how they found Berk or where they and come from but now it was a fact of living in Berk. After the first couple of attacks hunting parties were sent out to find the nest and destroy it. Now seven generations later it was still a mystery where they came from and where they went with their stolen food.

A theory soon accepted by everyone was that they lived in the Frozen Void neighboring the galaxy of Misery. The Frozen Void was a massive expanse of empty space that extended into the unknown. No ship that had ever returned attempting to reach the other side. It's said to take two thousand years to reach the other side and four times as long to go around. Berk sent daily patrols into the Frozen Void in attempt to map the expanse and find the nesting area of the dragons, but nothing had been found. It also didn't help that the Frozen Void was filled with a strange radiation that limited the range of radar and other means of detection. And so it was a perfect place for the dragons to hide. So the dragons were called Void Dragons.

Void Dragons were not the only type of creature that could survive the vacuum of space in this corner of the universe. Smaller dragons called Wild Dragons lived within the galaxy but didn't venture beyond its boundary. Wild Dragons usually lived in caves or solitary islands on planets with manageable to hot climates. They were dangerous in large groups and usually hunted in packs. Vikings weren't scientist so they never really figured out how dragons could fly from planet to planet or survive space. They just understood they could and just accepted it.

These Wild dragons shared may similar physical characteristics to their Void brethren. The only thing that separated them was their size and mental capacity. A Wild Nightmare grew to be the size of a large dog. A Void Nightmare, or Monstrous Nightmare, could be up to sixty to a hundred feet long. A Wild Nightmare could be trained to hunt for fish, rabbits, deer or other wild game. A Void Nightmare were overly aggressive and just liked to burn down the world around them. This was why Wild Dragons were taken as pets and Void Dragons were generally shot on site.

"Did we lose anybody?" Gobber asked grimly.

"I haven't heard," Stoic answered in a similar tone. "I saw Bulldock get snatched up and dropped by a Deadly Nadder. Didn't seem him later so..."

"Bulldock is a tough one, I doubt he'd be done in by a 'ittle drop."

"Well I got to check on things before I get to fixin' the village in the morning," Stoic said with a exhausted sigh.

"Well, 'nite Stoic, see ya tomorrow," Gobber said. The line of people with things that needed fixing was slowly disappearing now. Soon the line was gone leaving massive pipe of broken stuff that needed to be fix. Gobber turned around and headed for his work station where he started to sift through the mess of parts looking busy. Time crept on as the sound of tools tightening bolts and welders binding metal droned on. Finally at three in the morning Gobber called it quits.

"Alrigh' gents! Wrap up what yer working on and I'll see ya in the morning," Gobber yelled over the noise. Tools were put away and the tired workers slowly filed out of the forge. Everyone was too tired to say 'good night' or 'see you tomorrow' as they trudged back to their beds.

Hiccup's body was on autopilot as it homed in on his bed. He didn't even bother undressing, fall face first into his pillow. Sleep took over him before he heard the screeching under him.

"_MASTER OFF! MASTER OFF! MASTER IS SMASHING TOOTHLESS!"_

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**A/N: Well that's another under wraps. Hope you enjoyed and will comment about it. If you didn't enjoy it, still hope you'll comment about it. Questions are also always welcome, no point if following a story if you don't understand whats going on. Until next time, Peace.**


	3. Daily Torture

**A/N: Thank you to for waiting for this chapter and enjoy.**

**Disclaimer: The following is a not for profit fan based fiction. How to Train Your Dragon story and characters are the property of Cressida Cowell and Dreamwork Animation. Please support the official literature and animated features. This literary work is written by the author for enjoyment and relaxation, and wishes to share their enjoyment of the HTTYD fandom with other. BTW do I need to put a Disclaimer in every chapter?**

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Chapter 3: Daily Life

Light slowly crept through the window in Hiccup's room. After such a late night the illumination went unnoticed by the sleeping figure on the bed. The sudden blaring alarm clock going off on the nightstand though, couldn't be ignored. Hiccup's arm flopped around wildly searching for the electronic demon rooster. Finally after silencing the abomination Hiccup let out a long groan and opened his eyes. His room was in shambles.

Hiccup blinked a couple of times sitting up in bed to look around at the mess. Hiccup knew Toothless was responsible, but he couldn't determine why his friend would lash out. Scratching his stomach he felt skin. He blinked for a second and looked down. There was a large hole in the front of his jumpsuit. The gears in Hiccup's head slowly turned until he recalled last night putting Toothless in the pouch inside the jumpsuit.

"Oh," Hiccup said blandly. Looking around the room again as he finally noticed Toothless asleep in a sock drawer. He was curled in a ball with a light wisp of smoke coming out of his nostrils. Hiccup figured that Toothless had gotten it out of his system last night and as long as he got a big breakfast Toothless would forgive and forget Hiccup's accidental collapse on top of him. Hiccup gave a sigh stretching his arms over his head while release a long yawn. He'd clean his room later, right now breakfast then back to the engineering forge for work.

Breakfast went as planned and Toothless forgave Hiccup wholeheartedly as he consumed his body weight in food. Afterward, they made their way sluggishly to the engineering forge. As Hiccup opened the main entrance he could only groan in frustration as the 'pile' came into view. Laying down an unconscious Toothless on top of a tool cabinet Hiccup gingerly started to sort out the mess.

Other workers slowly filtered in as Hiccup diagnosed the problem of each item then handed it off to someone else to complete the work. His cataloging of broken stuff was seldom interrupted by a worker asking how to fix something or which tool to use for a specific task. Toothless eventually woke up and immediately got board, so he decided to make this a little more interesting. Quietly sneaking into the 'pile', Toothless crawled inside of an exo-suit helmet and waited.

"AHhhhh! Good morn' Hiccup," Gobber greeted as he strolled into the forge mid-stretch. Hiccup glanced over at the clock, it was well past morning and almost noon. He shook his head, letting out a soft sigh.

"Morning Gobber, trouble sleeping last night?" Hiccup asked not looking up from the rifle he was working on.

"Not at all, slept like a babe. So ya done with nigh's repairs yet?" Hiccup eyes glanced up to lock with Gobber's. After a brief stare down Hiccup glanced over at the slightly diminished pile then back at Gobber.

"What do you think?"

"A little early for lip, ain't it Hiccup?"

"It's almost lunch time," Hiccup stated with a hint of frustration and anger slipping into his tone. Hiccup slammed the action in the rifle home a little more forcefully than necessary. Filling out a work order note he tied it to the barrel then neatly staked it in a rack for someone to fix.

"Well, let see how much we can get done til then," Gobber said as he marched over to the pile. He saw a exo-suit helmet front and center deciding it was an easy one to start off the day. As Gobber reached down to pick it up. He didn't notice the little tail sticking out. It wagged back and forth, faster and faster as Gobber's hand approached.

"_SURPRISE!"_ Toothless shot out of the helmet making Gobber scream like a girl as he fell backwards. Gobber brought his hands up to his face waiting for an attack. _"Toothless got you, Toothless got you, Toothless got you!" _ Toothless flew in circles around the work station as he chirped happily.

"HICCUP WHAT DID I SAY ABOUT YER DRAGON?!"

"What did you say about showing up for work on time?" Hiccup countered is a indifferent tone. Hiccup gave a wave and the excited Toothless circled around Hiccup and came to rest on his shoulder.

"_Hahaha, Toothless got you!"_ Toothless curled back his neck, rising his snot high and sticking out his chest, so very proud of himself.

"Keep that dragon under control and mind yer tone boy," Gobber growled as he got back onto his feet.

"Oh, Toothless thought you just needed a wake up call," Hiccup smirked giving Toothless a scratch behind the horns. Gobber grumbled knowing that Hiccup was wanted remind him that he had skipped out on his duties. He didn't have to take that attitude with it though, he was the Chief Engineer.

"Go take an early lunch Hiccup, and leave that dragon at home. I don't need my adrenalin pumpin' all day," Gobber huffed as he picked up the exo-suit helmet. Hiccup gave a nod smiling as he headed out to enjoy his short reprieve. Stepping outside the weather was excellent by Berk standards. The sky was overcast, the wind was only slightly blowing with a misting rain. Taking a deep breath of air Hiccup headed for home.

"_Master didn't-n't get in trouble-ble because of Toothless, did Master?"_ Toothless asked almost ashamed that he had caused trouble.

"_No, Toothless didn't get Master in trouble. Gobber just didn't like us see him scream like a little girl. Good job by the way," _Toothless perked up happy at master's complement, _"but lets hold off on the pranks for a while. Everyone still wants to kill you after eating their lunches." _ Toothless visually deflated a little bit.

"_Toothless will behave for Master. Master takes good care of Toothless."_

"_And Toothless takes good care of Master," _Hiccup reached up to his shoulder giving Toothless a scratch at the base of the neck. Toothless purred happily as he pressed against the nibble fingers. The smile of both their faces held for a few minutes, but as they approached their home they saw a small group of teens standing in the street.

Hiccup recognized his normal tormentors among the group. Hiccup wanted to steer clear, however curiosity seemed to draw him closer. Everybody was focus on something in the middle of the group and didn't notice his approach at all. Hiccup walked a little slower and closer to the group. This of course was a mistake as soon as he saw who was in the center of attention, Snotlout.

"Oh look who it is," Snotlout said with a grin, "our future chief, Hiccup the Worthless."

"Hello, to you too Snotlout," Hiccup said in a level voice. Toothless hunched forward on Hiccup's shoulder glaring at the boy for insulting his Master, small wisps of black smoke coming from his nostrils. Snotlout's grin grew into sneer as he looked at his cousin, but then changed into a pleasantly warm smile that worried Hiccup.

"I didn't see you doing anything at all last night Hiccup. Cowering under your bed as usual?" Snoutlout let the warm smile break into a loathsome grin for a second. "I on the other hand, single handily put out a fire that saved three homes," Snotlout boasted is warm smile widening. "This morning the owners came by the thank me. Of course, it was nothing, but they insisted that I be rewarded. So," Snotlout raised a pistol into view, "they gave me this."

"It's a Glock 88 long slide with an auto-aiming gyro," Tuffnut commented leaning in close to inspect it. "Twelve shot magazine, tactical rail, eighteen pound trigger pull..." The group of boys all gathered around, admiring the weapon with awe. The girls stood back a little, but Hiccup could tell they were slightly impressed with Snotlout's new 'toy'. Hiccup knew the value and specifications of the Glock 88, but didn't have much of an opinion of it. It was a fairly new weapon in Berk's arsenal and from what Hiccup had seen it was reliable. However, it sized in a relatively small caliber made for pierce lightly armored exo-suits. Against a Void Dragon it wouldn't be very affective, if not at all.

"I'm going to kill my first dragon with this," Snotlout announced raising the pistol above his head striking a pose. Everyone went wide eyed, in awe of the dramatic scene in front of them. Hiccup scoffed a little too loudly earning Snotlout's attention. "Find something funny Toothpick?" Everyone turned to look at Hiccup, suddenly making him shrink a little.

"If your going to kill a Void Dragon with that, its going to be pretty small," Hiccup stated.

"And why is that?"

"Because it doesn't have the piercing or stopping power of a larger caliber," everyone turned again to see Astrid standing at Snotlout's side. "I'd say you could kill maybe a Terrible Terror or a very small Deadly Nadder since they have the thinnest scales. Shoot at anything else and you'll just piss it off."

"I'll remember that," Snotlout said calmly, which surprised Hiccup that Snotlout would actually listen to anyone. Everyone who knew Astrid was the best teenage girl in Berk. She didn't have the physical strength that some of the boys had, but she made up for it with her quick mind and quicker reflexes. She also was very knowledgeable when it came to weapons. Wanting to become a shield maiden did encourage knowing weapons and armor from the inside-out. Snotlout probably recognized this and took Astrid's advice seriously.

"Has it been sighted in yet?" someone in the group asked.

"Don't know," Snotlout said with a grin. Hiccup shivered, as Snotlout's gaze fell on Hiccup. Then Snotlout's eyes shifted just slightly to the right. "Maybe we should check."

"_Toothless fly home now." _Hiccup whispered hurriedly.

"_What?" _ Toothless tilted his head looking at Hiccup perplexed.

"_FLY!" _Hiccup roared. Without another question Toothless shot into the air and headed for home.

"Damn," Snotlout said looking at the small dragon escape. "What did you do that for Worthless, you scared away my practice target."

"Toothless isn't a practice target," Hiccup's voice was no longer level as a hint of venom slipped in.

"Well I guess killing a pet dragon runt of an Useless Viking wouldn't have been as glorious as killing a Void dragon."

"You can't kill a Void dragon," Clueless stated very slowly as he thought about each word carefully before saying it. "You haven't gone through dragon training,"

"Why can't I? I'm going to be chief of this tribe and as future chief I can kill my first dragon whenever I want." Their were some nods in the group as everyone seemed to agree with him. A few looked a little worried.

"Because it's against the law," Hiccup stated. "Everyone, even Stoic, goes through the training before they're allowed to killed their first dragon."

"Well I'm going to be a better chief than Stoic and everyone else, so I can kill a Void dragon without the stupid training."

"You're going to get yourself killed," Hiccup pleaded.

"Why are you so against this Useless? You're afraid that if I kill a Void dragon before you that I'll be made chief."

"That isn't..."

"Because everyone knows that I'll be chief, its just a matter of time. Even your dad knows it. And what's better to prove it than by killing a Void dragon. Both of which you'll never do. You will never be chief and you will never kill a dragon, because you're Hiccup the Absolutely Useless." Hiccup and everyone else understood the underlining meaning of Snotlout's words. Snotlout was baiting and challenging Hiccup's position. The small crowd turned and looked at Hiccup for his response.

Hiccup thought it over. Ignoring Snotlout's challenge would be the easiest and smartest thing to do. That wasn't the Viking way though. By ignoring Snotlout he would be confirming his declaration of Hiccup's 'inadequacies', basically giving him the thumbs-up to take the chiefdom. Add on top of that is father's reaction followed by the collateral damage of his reputation with the rest of the village.

To make the issue even more complicated he didn't know anything about killing dragons. Sure he knew Dragonese and was more knowledgeable about dragons in general than most everyone else in the village. That however didn't really translate over to know-how on killing one. Sure he knew how to fix every weapon in Berk, but he never actually fired one outside of a shooting range. Even then most of the weapons large enough to kill a dragon were to heavy for Hiccup to lift without an exo-suit. That was another thing, Hiccup didn't have a combat exo-suit, he had a maintenance lifter which could lift a lot of weight but had exposed hydraulics and components that would be damage at the first blast of dragon fire. Not to mention getting roasted himself since it had an open cockpit.

It was a suicidal challenge for both Hiccup and Snotlout in more ways than one. A challenge just to satisfy Snotlout's ego and ambitions. It would get them both killed if attempted. However, the words of Hiccup's father echoing inside his head was the feather that tipped the scale. 'Why can't you be more Viking-like? Why can't you be like Snotlout?' So against Hiccup's better judgment he couldn't ignore or say 'no' to Snotlout's challenge.

"I'll kill a dragon in the next raid," Hiccup proclaimed softly. The group looked at Hiccup astonished. Even Snotlout looked surprised at his cowardice cousin stepping up. Snotlout pushed through the crowd to stand over Hiccup.

"What did you say?" he demanded.

"I challenge you to kill a Void dragon by your own hands in the next raid," Hiccup said slowly and loud enough everyone in the group could hear. Several people gasped wide-eyed, a few looked a little worried. Snotlout sneer grew.

"Very well," Snotlout reached back and punched Hiccup in the gut. Groaning Hiccup rolled off Snotlout's fist onto the ground clenching his stomach. "Don't get in my way Useless."

Snotlout gave Hiccup a kick in the ribs for good measure before walking off with his posse. No one checked to see if Hiccup was okay, nobody even gave the scene a second thought. When everyone was out of sight Hiccup grunted as he righted himself, hobbling the rest of the way home clenching his stomach.

Hiccup pressed against the door as he turned the handle, wishing the door didn't weigh so much. Inside he pressed his back against the door to close it.

"_Master's home, Master's home," _Toothless chirped happily. His celebration faded as he say Hiccup's expression of worry and distress. He watched as Hiccup slid down the door cradling his head to sit of the floor. _"Master, what's wrong?"_ Toothless asked looking worried at Hiccup.

"_I've made a mistake,"_ Hiccup said softly. _"A terrible mistake."_

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**A/N: Now things start to get interesting. Hope you enjoyed, please comment and I'll see you next chapter.**


	4. A Challenge

**Disclaimer: The following is a not for profit fan based fiction. How to Train Your Dragon story and characters are the property of Cressida Cowell and Dreamwork Animation. Please support the official literature and animated features. This literary work is written by the author for enjoyment and relaxation, and wishes to share their enjoyment of the HTTYD fandom with others.**

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Chapter 4: A Challenge

Hiccup sat with his back against the door for a long time. Toothless started to worry a little as his master's face showed a great amount of fear and worry. He knew that master was thinking, he was always thinking. Right now though master was thinking of sad things. Toothless silently left his master by the door and flew back to the kitchen.

Hiccup's mind was filled with 'what ifs' as he tried to come to turns with what he had just done. He had just challenged Snotlout kill a Void dragon. Neither had the proper training or weapons to perform such a task. They had been taught in school how to use both range and melee weapons. Hand-to-hand combat and brawling was actually a class, but didn't amount to much formal training. It was almost a 'rough house' period, the instructors thought that experience was the best way to learn things. So they just let the students beat each other senseless. Granted Snotlout had more experience fighting and using weapons than Hiccup, but that didn't translate to a dragon slayer. Snotlout's whole strategy would be to probably charge straight ahead gun blazing and then when he got close enough bash its skull in with whatever was handy. Probably his face, since he kept bragging about how tough he was. Himself on the other hand wasn't tough at all. Hiccup was about to list his faults, failure and doomed existence when something slapped him in the face.

_"Master needs to eat,"_ Toothless ordered as he pressing a uncooked steak against Hiccup's face. Hiccup blinked as he registered the words. _"Master thinks happier thoughts when tum-tum is full."_ Hiccup looked down at his friend and smiled.

_"Yeah,"_ Hiccup smiled taking the slice of meat. Standing up he headed over to the kitchen. Lunch was quiet as Hiccup cooked and Toothless watched intently. Hiccup focused on the task at hand ignoring the pounding issue at the back of his mind. It was until Hiccup had taken the first bite of his meal did he let his train of thought return.

He was weak. He didn't deny that at all, but all that did was limit his options. As an engineer he had learned to identify the problem, know the factors of that problem then find a solutions. Problem, he was physically weak therefore could not wield most if not all the weapons usually used to kill dragons. Problem, he didn't have a combat exo-suit to compensate for his physical impediment. Problem, he did not have the training or experience to fight a dragon.

Hiccup paused to look at Toothless slurping away at a bowl of soup Hiccup had warmed up for him. Taking a bite of his own meal Hiccup watched as Toothless dunked his entire head under the broth then inhaled. Hiccup knew dragons had a set of gills to help them breath under water so he wasn't worried about his friend drowning. There was one thing in Hiccup's favor, he knew dragons.

Before taking Toothless as a pet Hiccup was an avid Wild dragon watcher. There was a cliff face not far from the village of Berk that had a colony. The caves in the cliff face provided for a well defended nesting place with an added bonus of a few hot springs running through some of the tunnels. Hiccup erected a make shift hunting blind out of large rocks, tree branches a tarp and some rope. He could sit for hours watching dragons, taking notes, photos and video. It was a relaxing spot to just sit, read, sketch or think. Many of his ideas for inventions came to him there.

As he thought about how the Wild dragons behaved. Wild dragons knew it was safest in the air. It was kind of like how ducks liked to stay in the water, because they knew it was the safest place from land predators. The waters around Berk had sharks, on land they had wolves, cougars and bears. Despite the ability to breathe fire these predators were generally larger than Wild dragons and would commonly make a meal out of an unsuspecting fire-breather. So dragons had learned to stay in the air.

Likewise Hiccup had observed that Void dragons had adopted this same behavior. On the ground it was full of angry Vikings with bright lights and weapons. In the night sky the angry Vikings couldn't see them. In raids Void dragons had adopted a hit and run tactic, staying on or near the ground as little as possible. Berk had spot lights sweeping the sky, but these usually became targets and where quickly destroy. Night vision, radar and other means of detection had been tried but had never become a successful means of targeting Void dragons. Just shooting blindly into the sky had been proven to be a very effective way of wasting ammunition.

So if Hiccup wanted to kill a dragon, it wouldn't be expecting to be attacked in the air. This gave him the advantage, but how to attack them.

"*BBUUURRPPP*," Hiccup focus went to the small dragon sitting across from him, _"...excuse Toothless."_ Hiccup grinned a gave a little scratch behind the horns.

_"You're excused,"_ Toothless smiled back and closed his eyes leaning into his master's fingers. _"I've got to be getting back to the forge Toothless, can you behave while I'm gone?"_

_"Oh, yes Toothless can behave."_

_"Will you?"_ Hiccup questioned.

_"Maybe?"_ Toothless answered mischievously.

_"Well, if you get into trouble make sure I can clean it up before Dad finds out. I'll be back later."_ Hiccup rose, picking up the dishes as he did and putting them in the sink to be cleaned later. Giving Toothless one more scratch Hiccup headed for the forge.

"About time you came back," Gobber grumbled as Hiccup entered. Hiccup gave a shrug walking past the man to his work bench. "Here," Gobber lifted what he had been working on, setting it down in front of Hiccup. "I've gotta do some stuff, take care of the rest of it." Before Hiccup could ask a question Gobber was gone.

"He runs really fast for a man his size," Bjor commented from behind Hiccup.

"Especially when he can hear a pint of ale calling his name," Hiccup added humorously, getting a few chuckles from the neighboring work benches. Hiccup looked at the pile. It hadn't diminished at all. He let out a long sigh as he looked at the beat of piece of metal resembling a helmet in front of him. "Well, back to it." Hiccup thought to himself reaching for a hammer.

The helmet didn't take long to pound back into shape. After that things got more technical. A half dozen rifles that needed new firing pins, several sets of armor that needed the circuitry redone on either the entire upper or lower half, vehicles with fire damage needing to be gutted for usable parts. To simplify the long list of accomplishments Hiccup just called it a long day.

"All right, wrap it up," Hiccup called out. Gobber had made a reappearance, but had been called away to one of the mine sites to fix an ore loader. It was well past quitting time and since Hiccup was unofficially in charge when Gobber left it was his call when the day was over. "Remember to lock up and tag anything that still needs work. Make sure everything's turned off I don't want to find the place burned to the ground in the morning."

As everyone filed out Hiccup did a walk around inspection turning off a few bench lights, but nothing he would have to lecture anyone about in the morning. Finally reaching the exit he gave one more glance back a the forge before turning off the main lights. Hiccup was pulling out his keys to lock up when he heard someone huffing up the hill.

"Hiccup *huff* what *huff* happened," turning around Hiccup saw Fishlegs panting as he jogged towards him.

"What happened about what?"

"Your challenge *huff* to Snotlout *huff* all over *huff* the village *huff* Are you insane?!" Fishlegs bent forward with his hands on his knees as he caught his breath. Hiccup knew the news of Snotlout and Hiccup trying to out do each other would get around eventually, but he didn't expect it to be all over the village eight hours later.

"What did you hear?" Hiccup knew the game of telephone around Berk's rumor pool exaggerated things to ridiculous levels. Something as small as someone getting stitches for a cut at breakfast could be having their arm reattached by dinner. Add Snotlout's talent for over exaggerating the truth and things could be blown out of proportion twice as fast.

"Well *huff* you're going *huff*.."

"Catch your breath Fishlegs, I can wait." Fishlegs smiled weakly as his breathing began to level out.

"You're going to give up the chiefdom to Snotlout if you don't kill a dragon."

"I didn't agree to that at all. All I said was I could kill a dragon and I challenged Snotlout to see if he could do the same in the next raid. No prize was mentioned, no wager was made." This was Berk politics at its best. It was true they didn't make a wager, however if Hiccup didn't beat Snotlout in this challenge he would have a better standing to take the chiefdom. Of course, if Snotlout's gang started swearing that Hiccup and Snotlout had made a wager then it was his word against all of theirs.

"We you know how things get blown out of proportion around here," Fishlegs said with a sympathetic smile.

"Yeah, I know. Thanks for warning me about it before I got home." Hiccup said with a heavy sigh. "I'm sure my father will be elated that I made such a noble challenge."

"Well don't get yourself killed, I don't have to remind you if how much I fear the idea of Snotlout being chief." The two friends shared a smile before saying farewell and headed for home. On his walk home Hiccup let the subject drop from his mind as he cursed the weather as he pulled his rain suit tightly around him. However, today's actions did become forgotten as soon as he had wished.

"What this I hear about you being banished if you don't kill a Void dragon?" Hiccup spun around just as he closed the door to his home looking up at his father. His face in a stern disappointed look, arms crossed over his chest, shoulders square and standing ramrod straight.

"Well, uhmm..."

"AH, HA HA HA, that's my boy. I know you had it in ya," Stoic bellowed.

"_Oh, busted ballast bolts," _Hiccup muttered in dragonese.

* * *

**A/N: The story is accelerating, not at a very quick pace, but foundations must be built. Hope you enjoyed, please comment and I'll see you next chapter.**


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